Illegal immigration at the southern border has dropped to its lowest levels since just after President Biden took office, with Customs and Border Protection reporting fewer than 145,000 encounters with unauthorized migrants in June.
The drop is particularly acute for the Border Patrol, which reported fewer than 100,000 apprehensions along the boundary with Mexico. That’s down from more than 200,000 per month at the start of this year.
Homeland Security officials took a victory lap, crediting new policies they said have enticed some unauthorized migrants to enter through official border crossings, while scaring others away from entering at all.
“CBP’s mission is vast, and thanks to the dedication of our personnel and federal partners, we are delivering results that keep the American people safe,” said Troy Miller, acting CBP commissioner.
There were still worrying signs, however.
The Border Patrol detected another 15 terrorism suspects in June, bringing the total to 140 through the first nine months of the fiscal year. That has already shattered last year’s record of 98 for all of fiscal 2022, and it obliterates the numbers from the Trump years, when just 11 total migrants with records in the Terrorism Screening Dataset were detected from 2017 through 2020.
Seizures of fentanyl, the deadly synthetic opioid, dropped for the second straight month, to about 2,200 pounds. That included a particularly large drop for the Border Patrol, which covers the area between the border crossings. Seizures at ports of entry remained relatively flat.
The illegal entry numbers are the lowest since February 2021, or the first full month under Mr. Biden.
His move to erase President Trump’s get-tough policies and adopt a more lenient approach to illegal immigration invited the worst border surge in history.
He has attempted an about-face in recent months, with a carrot-and-stick approach that threatens tough consequences for those who get caught by the Border Patrol but offers leniency to unauthorized migrants who schedule their arrivals and come through official ports of entry.
The result is a massive drop in Border Patrol arrests, but a surge in encounters by officers at the ports of entry, who are being told to welcome and “parole” unauthorized migrants if they pre-scheduled their arrival.
Port officers reported encountering a record 111,000 unauthorized migrants in June, including a record 45,000 at the southern border.
Nearly 16,000 more were encountered at the northern border, and roughly 50,000 at airports and seaports.
Half of all of those unauthorized migrants are from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Ukraine — countries where the Biden administration has created a specialized immigration system to welcome them even though they lack legal visas to enter.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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